12 Occupy Philly protesters acquitted of trespass

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A jury acquitted a dozen Occupy Philadelphia demonstrators Tuesday — and the judge shook their hands — in their appeal of misdemeanor convictions stemming from 2011 arrests during a sit-in at a Wells Fargo Bank branch.

The Common Pleas Court jurors deliberated over three days before finding the defendants not guilty of conspiracy and defiant trespass, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Common Pleas Judge Nina Wright Padilla asked all 12 to approach so she could shake their hands.

“I hope you continue your work in a law-abiding way,” she said. “I must say you are the most affable group of defendants I’ve ever come across.”

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During the Nov. 18, 2011, protest, demonstrators accused Wells Fargo of “racist predatory lending” policies and said the policies resulted in a disproportionately large number of home foreclosures in black neighborhoods. The 12 arrested were convicted last summer by a municipal court judge and ordered to pay $500 fines.

On appeal, defense attorneys argued that the sit-in was protected by the First Amendment guarantee of free speech, and said the “greater good” served by the protest outweighed the charges.

Prosecutors argued the free speech rights didn’t apply once the protesters went inside the bank because the demonstrators were on private, not public, property.

Last year, Wells Fargo and four other major lenders reached a $25 billion settlement with attorneys general across the nation to end investigations over alleged foreclosure abuses.